“Do you believe in miracles?………YES!”

I was in sixth grade when Al Michaels made that legendary call as the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team ran off the final few seconds in their miraculous upset of the Soviet team- in Lake Placid, New York.

Ever since those 1980 games, I’ve wanted to go to Lake Placid and see that arena, the ski jumps, the bobsled track, the ski slope, and the outdoor speed skating track.

It took 46 years, but last month I finally got there.  Despite it being summer, the trip was excellent!  And now I’m inspired to go back in the winter and try some of those winter sports myself!

The biggest thing that stood out to me about Lake Placid is just how small it is.  It’s a village, not a city or a town.  I was also surprised at how different the Olympics are now compared to 1980.  The whole thing is just so much bigger these days.  Can you imagine holding the modern Opening Ceremonies in a makeshift stadium built on a horse farm?  How about a student looking out the classroom window and watching the speed skating competition? 

Things like this, along with the world class facilities, contribute to making Lake Placid the special place it is. We enjoyed our 3-4 days there very much and I definitely recommend visiting in whatever season you can get there!

Day 1- Travel Day

We drove up from Lancaster County, PA and didn’t arrive until about 10pm.  Driving through the surrounding mountains after dark, we could tell we were missing something special.  It was very dark and very “remote” feeling.

We checked in to Cobble Mountain Lodge, which is a collection of small cabins that look just like you would hope they would. We loved staying there!

Cobble Mountain Lodge cabins were very cool!

Day 2- Olympic Museum, Hockey Arena, Shopping, Mirror Lake

Olympic Museum

After breakfast at one of the many cool places on the main street, we went directly to the Olympic Museum.  The original arena scoreboard greets visitors right inside the door, reset as if that legendary hockey game had just ended.

From there, the museum takes visitors through a history of both the winter Olympics, and of Lake Placid itself, with both stories intersecting often.

The museum has exhibits on everything from the development of the sports, equipment, players, courses, facilities, political considerations, environmental and climate issues…It’s very comprehensive and definitely worth a visit.

The famous hockey arena is connected to the museum building and is surprisingly small by today’s standards.  But the vibes and nostalgia are big!  You can stand in the bench area and imagine the real life drama that took place there years ago.

The scoreboard!
The Olympic Flame resided in this thing during the 1980 games.
Excellent info, displays and exhibits all throughout the museum.
The rink where it happened. Doesn’t it look small though?!
Lake Placid also hosted the Winter Games in 1932, and this was the ice rink, located right beside the current/1980 rink.

Skating Oval

Literally right outside the museum/arena door is the outdoor skating circle. It’s also right in front of Lake Placid Junior/Senior High School.  I just can’t imagine having world class Olympic events in such an approachable venue- it must have been awesome!  In the summer, when it’s roller skating season, you can rent skates and get busy imitating Eric Heiden or his equally impressive sister, Beth. Sad to say, puddles from a recent rain put an end to our skating exhibition before it began.

“Hey kids- quit looking out the window during class”. But there’s a historic speed skating oval outside! That’s the conversation I imagine inside the school building in the background.

Town & Mirror Lake

Lake Placid’s main street is filled with a variety of stores, most of which we found interesting enough to go in. When the heavy rains came, we had pizza on a cafe porch and waited it out.

The town is situated on the shores of a mid-sized lake- but it’s not Lake Placid (that one is about a quarter mile away and much larger), it’s actually Mirror Lake.  We took the roughly 2 mile walk around the whole thing, basically for the purpose of being nosey and looking at people’s houses.  

We also got a glimpse of the Toboggan Chute.  In winter, you can slide down this thing and continue right across the (hopefully) frozen lake.  

The whole village has the feel of an alpine resort, says me- a guy who has never been to the Alps. But, it’s a very small, very walkable place, that’s packed with interesting things to see.

That Apline Village look I mentioned…
Mirror Lake makes a beautiful scene….
and it’s very reflective too!
Overkilling the beautiful lakeside pics maybe- but who cares?
How many towns have a toboggan chute?!
The Lake Placid Club was instrumental in making the village an international destination. It was closed in 1980 and languished a while before being bought and re-organized, maintaining its golf courses.

In Part 2, I’ll recap our visits to the other Olympic sites including, Mount Van Hoevenburg, the ski jump center, and Whiteface Mountain.

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